Stanton has been dealing with a calf strain and has played in exactly one spring training game. Judge has a pectoral injury and has not suited up in a game yet this spring. Even if the injuries are quickly healed, they’re not likely to be up to game speed in the time left down in Florida.

This is nothing new for the Yankees, of course. Last year New York saw multiple stars miss a ton of time, Judge and Stanton included. This year the club is already dealing with the loss of these two sluggers, the season-long loss of Luis Severino, at least a half-season loss of James Paxton and a half-season loss of Domingo Germán due to his domestic violence suspension.

Amazingly, the 2019 Bombers got through all of that and won 103 games and the AL East title. Could they do it again? Sure. It’s not the sort of thing one really wants to count on, though, is it?

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher has reversed course and will continue to pay minor leaguers. Fisher tells Slusser, “I concluded I made a mistake.” He said he is also setting up an assistance fund for furloughed employees.

The A’s decided in late May to stop paying paying minor leaguers as of June 1, which was the earliest date on which any club could do so after an MLB-wide agreement to pay minor leaguers through May 31 expired. In the event, the A’s were the only team to stop paying the $400/week stipends to players before the end of June. Some teams, notable the Royals and Twins, promised to keep the payments up through August 31, which is when the minor league season would’ve ended. The Washington Nationals decided to lop off $100 of the stipends last week but, after a day’s worth of blowback from the media and fans, reversed course themselves.

An @sfchronicle exclusive: A's owner John Fisher reverses course, apologizes: team will pay minor-leaguers; "I concluded I made a mistake," he tells me. He's also setting up an assistance fund for furloughed employees: https://t.co/8HUBkFAaBx)